Rila Monastery is situated in the southwestern Rila
Mountains, 73 miles south of Sofia, in the deep
valley of the Rilska River, at an elevation of
3,763 feet above sea level.

History

The monastery was founded by the hermit St. John of
Rila during the rule of Tsar Peter I (927-968). The
hermit actually lived in a cave without any material
possessions not far from the monastery's location, while
the complex was built by his students, who came to the
mountains to receive their education. The original
complex was completely destroyed in the 13th century.

A new building was constructed a few miles from the
site of the first foundation, and it was completed in the
14th century thanks to the donations of Stefan Hrelyu, a
powerful local prince who ordered in 1355 the
construction of the tower that still bears his name and a
church dedicated to John of Rila, who had in the meantime
been canonized. During the Ottoman Turkish domination of
Bulgaria, the monastery became a bulwark of national
identity in the face of foreign occupation. It also
became a destination for pilgrimages from all over the
Balkan region, especially after 1469, when the relics of
the saint were brought there.

The complex continued to serve this function in the
centuries that followed, especially in the 18th and 19th
centuries, when it became one of the powerhouses of the
Bulgarian Renaissance. It was destroyed by fire in 1833,
and then reconstructed between 1834 and 1862 with the
help of wealthy Bulgarians from across the country, under
architect Alexi Rilets. The erection of the residential
buildings began in 1816, while a belfry was added to the
Tower of Hrelyu in 1844. Neofit Rilski founded a school
in the monastery during the same period.

In 1961, Rila Monastery was declared Rila Monastery
National Museum. In 1976, it was declared a National
Historical Reserve, and in 1983 it was included on
UNESCO's List of World Cultural Heritage Sites.

Rila Monastery, with the Tower of
Hrelyu (Hrelja) at the center

Architecture

The existing structures, with the exception of the
Hrelyu Tower, date to the 19th-century building project.
They occupy a vast area (approximately 2.1 acres) which
forms an irregular square, provided with two entrances,
both decorated with frescoes. The building that surrounds
it contains four chapels, a refectory and some 300 cells,
a library, and rooms for the guests of the monastery. The
complex has an interior courtyard overlooked by three-
and four-story constructions, embellished by orders of
arches set upon stone columns.

The Hrelyu Tower is a compact building 75-1/2 feet
high, square in plan. The highest of its five stories
contains a chapel dedicated to the Transfiguration and
decorated by a series of frescoes that were done in the
second half of the 14th century; in the nave are depicted
stories of Saint John of Rila.

Of the buildings constructed in the 19th century, the
most important is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Assumption, built in 1833 on the structure of the
preceding building. Its architect was Peter Ivanovich,
who worked on it in 1834-1837. The temple has five domes,
three altars and two chapels. One of the most precious
items inside is a gold-plated iconostasis, famous for its
wood-carving, the creation of which took four craftsmen
five years to complete. The wall-paintings were completed
in 1846 by many masters from Bulgaria, but only Zahary
Zagraph signed his paintings.

The museum of the Rila Monastery is particularly
famous for housing Rafail's Cross, a wooden cross made
from a whole piece of wood (32×17 inches). It was
whittled down by a monk named Rafail using fine burins
and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes
and 650 miniature figures. Work on this piece of art
lasted not less than 12 years before it was completed in
1802, when the monk lost his sight.